The first month of school is already completed, and if you are feeling anything like me, it was a BLUR. 

For Week 4, I really tried to continue to incorporate SEL (Social and Emotional Learning) as much as possible. I also read a post from a dear friend of mine, Kayla Collier (@dontforgettocolliermama) who spoke on the importance of ability. She had mentioned that many people in education are pushing "Cameras ON" for participation, and how this idea is unfair and ableist. Kayla said

"When you say, “I don’t know how to make meaningful connections/assess learning/monitor engagement if I can’t see my students,” I understand. I do. Sight is a beautiful gift that provides valuable information. As someone who went from being visually able to visually impaired in a matter of weeks, I do not underestimate the value of sight. However, it is not the only means of getting information. Please take the time to think about how you can get the information you need without requiring cameras on." 

Kayla's words made me think about new ways to reach my students who are unable or simply choosing to keep their cameras off. So I searched for new ways to engage my students and I stumbled upon Peardeck. Pear Deck is an educational technology company that offers interactive opportunities for teachers and students. 

Using Pear Deck, I can:

• give quick assessments to my already made presentations
• check in on student understanding. 
• ask how students are feeling without using words. 
• allow students to be engaged 100% and see the engagement. 

and I have barely scratched the surface! 

So, are any of you using Pear deck? What have your interactions with this application been? Let me know in the comments below! 

Hope you have a restful weekend!
-Mrs. Dunc 💜

Week three of Distance Learning, some days are better than others. 
This week I have been trying to incorporate Hispanic Heritage month with each grade level, while still learning and teaching schoology, flipgrid, and microsoft teams. 

For K-1-2: 

• Hello: Bonjour Mes Amis (but in spanish) Hola Mis Amigos. 
• Singing: I introduce Los Pollitos with movement. We count how many times the chickies cry (3). We then add movement to the cries "pio pio pio". I have several children come up with new ways to move on the cries of the chickies. 
• Movement: Sing and Stop song with my paddle. THEY LOVE this game. We play for about 8 minutes. I call on different students to come up with a new thing to do and then stop. 
• Book: De Colores (the colors) by Patty Rodriguez

For 3-4-5: 

• We were finishing up our name activity from last week after we read "Your Name is a Song" by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow. This activity included students sounding out their names, and uploading themselves to flipgrid saying their names and breaking them down.  
• Singing: We talked about our hand signs and the "Do Re Mi:" song. I then introduced them to Music K8's "Wacky Do Re Mi" They love it and so do I!
• Movement: Just Dance "Waka Waka Africa" sung by Shakira. 
• We are continuing to navigate through schoology as well. 

For 6-7-8: 

• We were also working on flipgrid and our name activity. This was so helpful for me to correctly pronounce their names. 
• We read Drum Dream Girl by Margarita Engle and created different rhythmic patterns as we read the story. 
• Movement: We listened to Mambo Mami by Anacaona Orchestra (who Drum Dream Girl is based off of) and would freely move until we heard the text "Mambo Mami" and we would freeze. Song is on spotify. 
• Create: We also created in chrome music lab. creating patterns to upload to schoology (Just for practice in submitting in schoology :P) 

I am trying to keep my morale up and not be discouraged by glitching vids and slow internet. Hope you are having a great week! 

Charissa
@musicwithmrsdunc